by Margaret Kay
She turned the engine over as her phone’s ring tone blasted the otherwise quiet in the car. She glanced at the display. A call from Danny. She smiled as she hit accept on her phone, put it on speaker, and greeted Danny. “Hi. You are right on time.”
“Sounds like you’re in your car,” Mother said, hearing the background noise. “You had planned to be home by now.”
“Yeah, I’m running late. I’m just leaving work. How was your day?”
“Productive. We’ll be working tonight too. I only have a few minutes to talk but I wanted to hear your voice.”
“I like that,” she said with a smile. She put her phone in the dashboard cradle. “So, I think I can pull off about a week away at the end of the month if you still want me to come to Chicago, but I really do wish you could take some time off and meet me in Key West.”
“Damn, Annaka, you know I’d like that. I don’t know if I can. I’ll try. Can we wait a few days for me to get back in the office and try to plan something? I can’t really do it from here.”
Annaka had no idea where ‘here’ was. “Sure. Just let me know where to book a flight to and when.”
“Key West sounds great. If I can pull it off, I will. All I care about is spending some more time with you, Annaka,” Mother said. His eyes scanned the lights from the Strip, just over a block away. He was in the back lot of the industrial building that was their onsite headquarters.
“Me too, Danny,” she said. “So, Remi and I got the report sent off to the agency that approved the new 3-D seismic survey and exploratory drilling, urging them to pull that approval. I think we provided a great deal of information that should sway them.”
“Are you still registering low magnitude quakes?”
“Yes, we had fifteen in the last twenty-four hours.”
“That’s a lot more than while I was there,” Mother said.
“It’s been increasing daily since you left. Clint plans to deploy some additional seismology equipment tomorrow, thinks the fault is really getting stressed. I’ll let you know what he finds.”
“Please do,” Mother said as Lambchop came out the back door. Like Mother, he wore jeans and other street clothes. Mother would be going in undercover with the Birdman, but the rest of the team would be nearby and needed to blend in.
“I will. Danny, I really have a bad feeling about it. The whales’ behavior is more erratic than I’ve ever seen. I know their behavior is linked to the tremors.”
“Hopefully, Ames deploying more equipment will give you additional proof to go back at the regulatory agencies harder. I know you want the current drilling shut down too.”
“Yes. If a quake of any strength hits, those rigs in the inlet could be severely damaged. We could have a huge environmental disaster on our hands.”
“Keep at it, cariño. You’ll get the proof and get them shut down if there is a threat. I have faith in you,” Mother said as Lambchop motioned to him to wrap the call up and come back inside. It was time for the briefing. Mother nodded to his boss. “I hate to do this, but I have to go.”
“I understand. Be safe,” Annaka said.
“You too. I’ll text or call when I can,” he promised.
“Yeah,” Annaka agreed. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye,” he said. “Annaka,” he said to Lambchop once the call was disconnected.
Lambchop chuckled. “I figured. Everyone is finally assembled for the briefing. Manning is even online.”
“Is that so,” Mother remarked, wondering why the deputy director of the DEA would be in on this particular briefing. “I don’t like the fact that several members of the DEA Strike Teams were running so late that it delayed our briefing. Makes me wonder why.”
“Yeah, if anything feels off while you’re at the meet, pull the plug on it and get out of there.”
“Roger that,” Mother agreed. Then he followed his friend and Team Leader back into the building for the briefing.
At a stop sign, Annaka stared at her phone for a few seconds after the call ended, feeling disturbed about the entire call until the person behind her honked at her. She drove the short distance to her house, deep in thought. The truth was, she had no idea if he was doing a job that was dangerous right now or not. She had to assume that whenever he was on a mission, there had to be some degree of danger to it. She was tired of running these same thoughts through her mind. She wasn’t sure if she could be in a relationship like this, where she had no idea where he was or what he was doing. And how often would they get to see each other? No matter how much she liked Danny, she seriously questioned being in this relationship.
Still deep in thought, she put the car in park in front of her house, grabbed her purse and got out of the car. After unlocking the front door, she threw the keys into her purse and then set it to the table. She filled her tea kettle and turned the stove on. A cup of hot tea sounded good. She’d also build a fire in the cast-iron stove, like she did most evenings to help warm the house up.
She reached into her purse for her phone. She wanted to send a text to Danny, telling him to call later when he was available, no matter what time that was. She hadn’t made a decision on the relationship, she just really wanted to talk more with him. Remembering she left the phone in the cradle in the car, she went back out to get it, fishing around the bottom of her purse for the keys as she rushed to the car. She normally didn’t throw her keys into her purse that way.
After she’d unlocked the car door, as she swung it open, the ground shook, and a deafening blast shattered the quiet as her house was engulfed in a massive fireball. She was violently knocked off her feet, and she fell into the car as debris from the explosion was thrust outward, hitting the car and all around it.
Her ears were ringing as she pulled herself to her feet. The heat from the house warmed her even though she felt numb. She couldn’t help but stare at her house, now a blazing inferno. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there dazed, her thoughts reeling. The flames still reached high into the dark, afternoon sky as she retrieved her phone from the dashboard cradle. She hit the saved State Trooper’s emergency phone number. She gave her name and her address. “My house just exploded,” she said with a shaky voice.
“Where are you right now?” She barely heard the dispatcher ask through the loud ringing in her ears.
“Outside, by my car.” Her eyes glanced over the hood which was covered with pieces of wood and glass. Her windshield was cracked.
“You don’t have to yell. I can hear you,” the dispatcher said.
She didn’t realize she was yelling.
“I have two units en route to you and I have also notified the Anchor Point Fire Department. They are en route as well. I’ll stay on the line with you until they are on site,” the voice said.
Annaka barely heard her. She clutched the phone to her ear, straining to hear, but the woman was quiet. Her eyes just watched her house go up like the dry kindling you used to start a fire.
“Are you still there?” The voice asked. “The fire department is two minutes out.”
“I am,” Annaka replied. It wouldn’t matter if they arrived in two minutes or twenty. Her house, and everything in it, was gone.
She heard sirens in the distance. They became louder, and within a minute the red lights of the firetrucks of the Anchor Point Fire Department pulled up her long driveway. She watched numbly as the men jumped out of the truck and began pulling hoses from both the engine and the tanker truck. An ambulance followed. A second ladder truck pulled in behind it.
One of the firemen was beside her. His lips moved, but all she heard was a woman’s voice. “The fire department reports they are on site. Is this correct?”
“Ma’am, can you hear me?” The fireman repeated louder. He squeezed the transmitter to a radio clipped to the top of his coat, near his neck. “Homer Fire and Rescue engine just arrived on scene,” he transmitted.
Annaka nodded. She watched him take the phone from her hand. He spoke into it,
ended the call, and then handed it back to her.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
She nodded again. “I’m having problems hearing. My ears are ringing.”
“Let’s move you back,” he said, pulling on her arm.
She tripped on something and stumbled. The fireman caught her. Looking down, she saw her purse on the ground amongst pieces of smoldering debris. She retrieved her purse and held tightly onto it as the fireman pulled her behind the engine.
One of the paramedics asked her questions and fussed over her. He tried to get her to go into the ambulance.
“I’m fine!” She snapped.
She turned her head and watched the firefighters douse her house with water lines from the two ladder trucks and from the tanker that dispensed three thousand gallons of water. It only took about twenty minutes for the shooting flames to be quelled. The debris pile that had been her home reached out from the frozen ground with smoldering, skeletal remains. The smokey smell was sickening.
The enormity of what she’d lost, all her possessions, her home, hit her. She swiped at her cheek, at the moisture that she realized were tears.
A few minutes later an older man with the fire department came up to her, the chief. “You’re extremely lucky you were not inside. Looks like a gas leak.”
“I turned the stove on to heat up my water kettle and then remembered I left my phone in my car.”
He laid his hand to her shoulder. “Are you okay? I’m told you have refused treatment by our paramedic.”
“I’m okay,” she insisted. Her eyes went back to the ashy, smoking ruins that were her home.
“Ma’am, do you have someplace you can go tonight?” He asked.
She nodded. “Can I drive my car?”
The fireman offered a compassionate grin. “Yes. It doesn’t appear to be too damaged.”
She got behind the wheel and shifted to drive, unaware of her destination. As she pulled out of her driveway, she pointed the car towards town. The motel next to the diner came to mind. She could get dinner and bring it to a room to eat. She’d feel closer to Danny at that motel. Danny, she wanted, no, she needed to talk to him. She dialed his number intending to leave a voicemail but was surprised when he picked up on the third ring.
The briefing ended and the members of Shepherd Security congregated near the two Harley’s that Mother and the Birdman would ride to the meet. Sloan helped Mother readjust the camera and mic that were concealed in the bandana he wore. Every member of the team wore street clothes.
Mother’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the display. It was Annaka. “Give me one sec,” he said. He paced away from the team before answering it. “Annaka, is everything okay?”
Her voice cracked and new tears streamed down her face. “No, my house. It blew up.” She realized she couldn’t see the road in front of her through her tears. She pulled off and onto the shoulder.
“Your house blew up? Cariño, are you okay?” His voice was a little louder than he planned. His entire team focused on him.
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Where are you right now?”
“In my car. I just pulled over.” She wiped her tears with a shaky hand.
“Take a few deep breaths,” his comforting voice said.
She did. “I’m fine. I wasn’t in the house. It’s destroyed, burned to the ground. The fireman said it was a gas leak.”
“Where are you driving to?”
“The motel by the diner. I’m going to get a room.”
“Annaka’s house exploded,” he said, his eyes on his team. Lambchop closed the distance and came beside him.
In the background, Annaka heard Lambchop’s voice. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, shaken up, but unhurt,” Danny’s voice reported. “As soon as we wrap this up, I have to go.”
“No, you don’t have to come. I’m fine, Danny. I just needed to hear your voice,” Annaka said.
“I wish I could let you go now, but the operation,” she heard Lambchop say. “Mother, I’m sorry, but we need to roll.”
“You go. I’m fine,” Annaka said, trying to convince herself.
“Okay. I’ll call you when I can. I’m sorry, we were just getting ready to do our thing,” Danny said.
“Whatever time you’re done, call,” she said.
“I will. Okay, cariño, I’m sorry I have to go now. Drive safe,” Danny’s voice came through the phone. Then he disconnected.
Annaka breathed out the heavy weight in her chest and consciously calmed herself. She was fine, physically unhurt. She had her backpack with a change of clothes in it, in the backseat. She had packed it the day Danny left, just in case she’d need it. And she had her purse. Thank God she’d thrown her keys into her purse after she’d unlocked her front door and thank God, she’d grabbed the whole purse to rummage through to find them on the way to her car to get her phone.
Then she realized that had she not left her phone in the car; she would have been inside the house when it blew up. Now she really began to shake. She grabbed hold of the steering wheel to calm her trembling hands.
“Is she okay?” Lambchop asked again.
Mother shook his head. “She’s really shaken up.” His eyes focused on Lambchop’s. “And I can’t help but wonder if it was just a leak, a freak accident. What if they’re coming after her?”
“Let’s wrap this up and then you can go back up there to be with her. Can you get your head in the game for the next few hours?” He’d never thought he’d have to be worried about Mother executing a mission.
“Yeah, don’t worry about me. Let’s get these bastards.”
Lambchop watched the DEA Units roll out of the warehouse. They’d get in position first. The operation was scheduled to commence in thirty minutes. The Shepherd Security team would be in position closer to where Mother and the Birdman would meet the mid-level dealer of Mexican heroin. They were posing as buyers who were looking to distribute a large volume. The meet was set to go down in a neon sign graveyard off the strip.
“Okay, the rest of us need to roll now,” Lambchop said. His eyes swept between Mother and the Birdman. “Remember, if anything feels off, pull the plug. Manning’s concerned about this guy. That’s good enough for me.”
Mother nodded. During the briefing, Deputy Director Manning had expressed concern over this guy, a rapper wannabe who went by the name of Prince Bandile. He was a black man in his late twenties. The local DEA identified him as a mid-level dealer. Manning wasn’t so sure. He said there were strong indications that this guy was further up the food chain than they thought. There was also some chatter that this guy commanded a band of thugs that were responsible for more than a few competitor’s deaths.
From the two previous meets with this guy, Mother wasn’t so sure. He didn’t seem smart enough to command anything. He reminded Mother of a guy who bumbled through life by the skin of his teeth, lucking out at every turn. They would soon see, though. This was it. Either he would have product to buy, hook them up with someone who did, or he’d try to kill them catching on that they were not who they claimed to be.
After a quick team prayer, the rest of the team left. Mother glanced back at the Birdman, watching him run through his pre-mission ritual, kiss the tags three times, spectacles, testicles, wallet watch. He checked the magazine in his .9 mm and then tucked it away in the holster in the small of his back. Mother opened one of his word games with Annaka, played it, exit for twenty-two points, double word score. He took the lead. He smiled as he put his phone away. Then he and the Birdman straddled their bikes and brought the throaty pipes of the Harley’s to life.
Annaka was startled by a knock to her window. She jumped in her seat; her head snapping left to view the man who stood by her car. It was State Trooper Alfrejd. She lowered her window.
“Dr. Sanchez, are you alright?” He asked.
“Yes,” she said, shaking her head. “No, not really,” she admitted.
“Wh
at are you doing pulled over to the side of the road?”
She swiped a hand over the tears on her cheeks again. “I couldn’t see to drive. And I called Danny, Agent Trio, one of the agents who found me after Patrick,” she corrected herself on his name, but didn’t finish her statement.
“Danny, yes. I heard you two became an item while he was here from Katie, at the diner.”
“Yes. We’re together,” she said. “I just knew it wasn’t safe to drive, so I pulled off the road.”
“That was smart. I was dispatched to your home, just left the fire department, looks like a total loss.”